News for the ‘Movies’ Category

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all rights in North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Asia (excluding China, Japan, and Singapore), and Benelux from HanWay Films to Ralph Fiennes’ THE WHITE CROW. Based on the book Rudolf Nureyev: The Life by Julie Kavanaugh, the film is directed by Fiennes and written by Academy Award® nominated David Hare (THE HOURS, THE READER.) HanWay Films, who is handling worldwide sales, also co-financed the film together with BBC Films and Rogue Black.

THE WHITE CROW captures the raw physicality and brilliance of Rudolf Nureyev, whose escape to the West stunned the world at the height of the Cold War. With his magnetic presence, Nureyev emerged as ballet’s most famous star, a wild and beautiful dancer limited by the world of 1950s Leningrad. His flirtation with Western artists and ideas led him into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the KGB. The film offers a thrilling insight into Nureyev’s dangerous defection, masterminded by the dancer’s great friend, a 21-year-old Parisian, Clara Saint. In an astonishing finale at Le Bourget airport in Paris, THE WHITE CROW leaps to freedom, and in so doing defines his destiny.

The film reunites Michael Barker and Tom Bernard with Fiennes, who previously appeared in Sony Pictures Classics’ SPIDER, THE WHITE COUNTESS, and INVISIBLE WOMAN, the last of which he also directed.

“I’m really delighted to be reuniting with Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and the team at Sony Pictures Classics. It’s been a huge challenge to make this film and there’s no question that with their vast experience with such a wide range of films, SPC is the right home for THE WHITE CROW. It’s great news,” stated Ralph Fiennes.

Said Sony Pictures Classics, “Ralph Fiennes has fully captured the times and early life of Rudolph Nureyev in the most thrilling way possible with the pulsing energy of the man himself. Also, THE WHITE CROW is especially timely. From Nureyev’s rich life experience in Russia and Paris to his suspenseful defection to the West, we are immersed in an authentic story we’ve never seen before. This is one of those rare movies that crosses so many borders culturally as a satisfying entertainment. We look forward to bringing Ralph’s movie to the public.”

HanWay Films MD Gabrielle Stewart added, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Sony Pictures Classics on the film. They have loved the project from the very start and THE WHITE CROW has all the hallmarks of a high-quality SPC release.”

THE WHITE CROW was developed by BBC Films and Gabrielle Tana (THE DUCHESS, DANCER, PHILOMENA) who also produces with Carolyn Marks Blackwood through Magnolia Mae Films together with Fiennes through Lonely Dragon Productions, and François Ivernel (THE QUEEN, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, THE IRON LADY) through the French branch of his company, Montebello Productions. Artist and filmmaker Andrew Levitas (LULLABY, GEORGETOWN, THE ART OF GETTING BY) produces and finances through his companies Metalwork Pictures and Rogue Black respectively.

The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and Gabrielle Stewart for HanWay Films, with whom SPC has worked on many films over the years, including A DANGEROUS METHOD and ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE.

Paramount Players announced today that the motion picture adaptation of Nickelodeon’s Peabody Award-winning children’s animated series, Dora the Explorer, began principal photography on location in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, on Monday, August 6, 2018. The production, being directed by 11-time Emmy and four-time BAFTA nominee James Bobin (The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted, “Flight of the Conchords”) marks the lovable Latina character’s big screen debut (and first live-action adaptation on any platform) after fourteen seasons (2000-2014) and 172 episodes on Viacom’s enduring children’s cable network. The film is a Paramount Players and Nickelodeon production in association with Walden Media. The film is being supported by the Queensland Government via Screenland Queensland. Paramount will release the film on August 2, 2019.

Dora the Explorer stars Isabela Moner (Transformers: The Last Knight, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Instant Family) in the film’s title role. Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents nothing could prepare Dora for the most dangerous adventure ever – High School. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego, and a rag tag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.

Seventeen-year-old actress Moner is joined in the film by one of Mexico’s biggest stars, Eugenio Derbez (Overboard, Instructions Not Included, How to Be A Latin Lover), who plays Alejandro, a mysterious jungle inhabitant who tries to protect the teenagers from the marauders. The film also features big screen newcomer Micke Moreno (Escobar: Paradise Lost), in the role of cousin Diego; Nicholas Coombe (“Spy Kids: Mission Control,” Midnight Sun) as Randy, a fellow high schooler who develops an immediate crush on Dora; Madeleine Madden (Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “Tidelands”) as the school’s snooty class president, Sammy; and Academy Award® nominee Adriana Barraza (Babel, Amores Perros, Thor, The 33) as Dora’s grandma, Abuelita Valerie. Temuera Morrison (Green Lantern, Moana) will play the role of Powell. Additional key casting announcements are forthcoming.

The film is produced by Christopher Robin producer Kristin Burr, who is joined by longtime Bobin associate, executive producer John G. Scotti (The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted, Alice Through the Looking Glass) as well as executive producers Julia Pistor (The Spiderwick Chronicles, A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Eugenio Derbez.

Bobin has assembled a talented team behind the camera that also includes reunions with Oscar®-winning production designer Dan Hennah (Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Alice Through the Looking Glass) and costume designer Rahel Afiley (The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted, “Flight of the Conchords”). The pair will be joined by six-time Goya Award winning (and BAFTA nominated) cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, A.S.C. (Secretos del corazón, The Others, Blue Jasmine, Thor: Ragnarok), film editor Mark Everson (Paddington, Paddington 2) and BAFTA-nominated VFX supervisor Andy Brown (Black Panther, House of Flying Daggers, Moulin Rouge!)

Dora the Explorer will film entirely in Australia’s Gold Coast, in the state of Queensland on the continent’s east coast south of Brisbane. Village Roadshow Studios, where the production will headquarter, has been host to several major Hollywood movies in the last few years, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Shallows, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and, most recently, DC’s Aquaman. In addition to designer Hennah’s stage builds, the production will utilize Queensland’s diverse landscape, notably tropical forests near Tamborine Mountain and Tallebudgera, to portray Dora’s jungle habitat.

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A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.

From visionary filmmaker Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. It’s the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation of a lifetime. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream. Produced by the team behind the Academy-Award® winning Get Out.

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SLENDER MAN

In a small town in Massachusetts, four high school girls perform a ritual in an attempt to debunk the lore of SLENDER MAN. When one of the girls goes mysteriously missing, they begin to suspect that she is, in fact, HIS latest victim.

From acclaimed production company LD Entertainment (The Zookeeper’s Wife, Jackie, and Megan Leavey) and Director Ken Marino comes Dog Days. Dog Days is a hilarious and heartfelt ensemble comedy that follows the lives of multiple dog owners and their beloved fluffy pals around sunny Los Angeles. When these human and canine’s paths start to intertwine, their lives begin changing in ways they never expected.

Newlywed Elizabeth (Abbey Lee) arrives with her brilliant scientist husband Henry (Ciaran Hinds) to his magnificent estate, where he wows her with lavish dinners and a dazzling tour of the property. The house staff, Claire (Carla Gugino) and Oliver (Matthew Beard), treats her deferentially but she can’t shake the feeling something is off. Henry explains that everything in his world now belongs to her, all is for her to play in — all except for a locked-off room he forbids her from entering. When he goes away for business Elizabeth decides to investigate and finds she may not be who she thinks she is at all.

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SKATE KITCHEN

In the first narrative feature from The Wolfpack director Crystal Moselle, Camille, an introverted teenage skateboarder (newcomer Rachelle Vinberg) from Long Island, meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a
kickflip.

Northern Lights Films, Foton Pictures, and Rockhill Media, in association with the Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO), proudly announce the wrap of principal photography on the feature film “To the Stars”.

Utilizing the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program administered by OF+MO, “To the Stars” began production in early March in Enid and filmed throughout the community and surrounding region for 18 days, followed by three days in the Bartlesville area this June. The City of Enid served as the production’s primary hub of activity throughout their time in Oklahoma with additional filming in the cities of Wakita, Kremlin, Hennessey, Pond Creek, Perry and Bartlesville.

“Filmmakers working on a small budget have more opportunities to select Oklahoma communities like Enid for their projects thanks to the incentive program from the Oklahoma Film + Music Office” said VisitEnid Director Marcy Jarrett. “Once ‘To the Stars’ chose Enid, the cast and crew shopped in Enid retail stores, dined in Enid restaurants and stayed in Enid hotels, creating an economic boost for our local businesses. Plus, ‘To the Stars’ filming here on the heels of ‘Wildlife’ gave Enid residents a huge sense of community pride.”

Set in 1960’s Oklahoma, “To the Stars” centers on the powerful friendship forged between a shy farmer’s daughter and the reckless new girl in town. The independent coming-of-age story stars Kara Hayward (“Moonrise Kingdom”), Liana Liberato (“The Best of Me”), two-time Emmy Award-winner Tony Hale (HBO’s “Veep”), Malin Akerman (“Watchmen”), Shea Whigham (“Take Shelter”), Jordana Spiro (“Ozark”), Lucas Zumann (“20th Century Women”), and Adelaide Clemens (“Rectify”). The film is produced by Kristin Mann and Laura D. Smith and directed by Martha Stephens, whose previous film, “Land Ho!”, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won the John Cassavetes Award at the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

“OF+MO wishes to congratulate the entire ‘To the Stars’ team on a successful wrap of production in Oklahoma,” said OF+MO Director Tava Maloy Sofsky. “We are grateful to our film-friendly community partners both in Enid and across the state for their support, which has allowed this production to spotlight Oklahoma’s diverse locations as well as increase positive economic impact among a variety of local businesses across the state.”

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Cinedigm Corp (NASDAQ: CIDM) announced today that it has acquired North American Distribution rights to the motorcycle road picture, AMERICAN DRESSER, starring Tom Berenger, Keith David, Bruce Dern, Gina Gershon, Penelope Ann Miller, Katherine Narducci, and Jeff Fahey. The film includes the original song titled AMERICAN DRESSER written and performed by Billy F Gibbons /ZZ Top and Country Rocker Tim Montana. Cinedigm will release the picture in select theaters and on digital and TV VOD on September 21, 2018, with a BLU-RAY and DVD release to follow in November.

From writer and director Carmine Cangialosi, who also stars, AMERICAN DRESSER follows John Moore (Tom Berenger), a hard-edged Vietnam veteran who is recently widowed and estranged from his adult daughters. After discovering a decades-old secret his wife kept for years, John finds himself at a crossroads and decides to confront the mistakes of his past by fulfilling a lifelong dream. He fixes up his American Dresser motorcycle and sets out on a cross-country road trip with his best friend, Charlie (Keith David). They hit the highway, exploring new territories, meeting a series of offbeat characters, and together they learn that life is about moving forward, one mile at a time.

“In quintessential American fashion, Berenger’s character takes to the open road, and by doing so, embarks upon the ride of his life to find himself and heal old wounds,” said Yolanda Macias, Cinedigm’s Executive Vice-President of Acquisitions. “As a director to watch, Carmine skillfully blends the wild excitement, humor and energy of an open road motorcycle adventure in AMERICAN DRESSER with a deeply heartfelt story of a man finally coming to terms with his past.”

“Cinedigm’s marketing and sales teams have shown a real willingness to collaborate and think outside the box to reach audiences for this movie,” said Carmine Cangialosi. “From pursuing promotion at the upcoming Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to activating targeted social media campaigns, I’m excited about these opportunities and Cinedigm’s distribution strategy for the picture.”

GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, announced that it is has acquired the theatrical distribution rights to PERFECT BLUE, the legendary first film from the late auteur director Satoshi Kon. GKIDS and Fathom Events will continue their extended partnership and bring the feature to US cinemas nationwide in a brand new digital transfer on September 6th and 10th only. In addition to the full feature, attendees will view exclusive bonus content to be announced closer to the event date.

PERFECT BLUE, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is the debut feature from the legendary director Satoshi Kon (Paprika) that continues to have a profound impact on animators and Hollywood directors. The groundbreaking film has been praised as being ahead of its time with themes still incredibly relevant today. PERFECT BLUE has been hailed as one of the best animated features of all time, and Kon went on write and direct a number of acclaimed projects including Paprika, Millennium Actress, and the television series “Paranoia Agent.”

“Satoshi Kon was an incredibly visionary and remarkable filmmaking talent,” said GKIDS President Dave Jesteadt. “His shocking debut feature remains incredibly relevant, with its bold view of how technology and media can mold and distort our own perceptions of ourselves, and we are pleased to offer a new opportunity for audiences to discover his work.”

GKIDS and Fathom Events will present PERFECT BLUE in approximately 500 select U.S. movie theaters on Thursday, September 6 in its original Japanese language with English subtitles, and Monday, September 10 in the English language dub at 7:00 p.m. local time for both shows. A complete list of U.S. theater locations will be available on the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Gray Hat Productions announced that actress Lynn Chen (Surrogate Valentine, Saving Face) will make her directorial debut with I Will Make You Mine, the final installment of the Surrogate Valentine Trilogy that premiered at SXSW 2011. After two award-winning and critically acclaimed indie feature films starring musician Goh Nakamura and directed by Dave Boyle – Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings – Chen, who also penned the screenplay, offers a feminine twist to complete the series.

Seven years after the initial film, I Will Make You Mine shares the perspective of the three women that are romantically linked to Goh as they maneuver into their 40’s and face major life changes. Starring Ms. Chen, Ayako Fujitani (Man From Reno) and Yea-Ming Chen (Daylight Savings), this installment is an exciting opportunity to support minority female talent at a time when diversity behind and in front of the camera is called for and at the forefront of industry conversation.

“I Will Make You Mine is a reunion,” Chen said. “I’ve always been curious about what ended up happening to all of these characters I loved getting to know. I feel it’s important to finally offer the female perspective – to go deeper into the lives of these women and see how they think and operate when they’re not around Goh.”

The indie feature film will bring the “band” back together, with all original major cast members and original director of photography Bill Otto. Dave Boyle will produce as Ms. Chen takes the helm. Principal photography commences soon in the Los Angeles area.

“Lynn Chen is one of my favorite collaborators,” Boyle said. “Reading her script and hearing her vision for the film was very inspiring, and I’m excited for people to discover her voice. I have no doubt her film will outshine the previous two installments – in addition to working as a standalone story.”

Goh Nakamura (Surrogate Valentine, Daylight Savings) returns in this third chapter as more of a supporting character respectively. Tamlyn Tomita (The Good Doctor), Joy Osmanski (Santa Clarita Diet), Mike Faiola (Awkward), Christy Meyers (Sound of My Voice), and Jeff Meacham (Black-ish) also round out the cast.

Chen is repped by Sovereign Talent Group and Authentic Talent and Literary Management. Fujitani is repped by Art/Work Entertainment. Tomita is repped by Sovereign Talent Group. Mike Faiola is repped by Abrams Artists Agency and Charlton Blackburne Management. Osmanski is repped by Kazarian Measures/Ruskin Associates and Bohemia Group.

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Gallo, who just wrapped The Poison Rose, helmed the film which is produced by Steve Lee Jones (Bee Holder Productions) and Scott LaStaiti, and executive produced by Camila Castro and Eric Weider. The film was written by Andy Weiss (White Boy Rick), George Gallo, Brad Furman and Ellen Furman.

Brothers Joe & Ben Weider were the architects of muscle. Against all odds, they launched an empire. Along the way they discovered Arnold Schwarzenegger, inspired female empowerment, championed diversity, and started a movement that changed the world.

“There is far more to this film that one would ever expect, it’s a rich and layered tale that is a true triumph of the spirit,” said Jones. Gallo added, “it’s the kind of film that shows that one can achieve anything if you believe in yourself enough and never take NO for an answer.”

Bigger will have its US premiere on September 13 in Las Vegas to coincide with the Mr. Olympia competition that was created by the Weider brothers, and will be in theaters on October 12.

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New York based Rialto Pictures will release John Carpenter’s landmark horror movie THE FOG on October 26, in its first-ever major restoration. The horror classic, in a full 4K restoration from Studiocanal, opens October 26 for limited runs at the Metrograph, in New York, Landmark’s Nuart in Los Angeles, and The Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

Additional screenings will occur during the week of Halloween throughout the Alamo Drafthouse circuit and other specialty theaters.

Carpenter’s first post-Halloween venture into the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired, apocalyptic vein that he would continue to mine in films like The Thing (1982) and Prince of Darkness (1987), THE FOG depicts the seaside California town of Antonio Bay in the grips of an ancient curse and a creeping mist. Drenched in malevolent atmosphere and packing an ensemble cast that includes Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook and the mother-daughter duo of Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis, this is the director at his ingenious, chilling best, servicing a contemporary taste for gore while simultaneously evoking the spirit of Val Lewton.

Out of theatrical release for years due to faded, unplayable prints, THE FOG can now be viewed again as it was intended, with the restoration of its breathtaking color cinematography by Dean Cundey (Escape From New York, Back To The Future (I-III), Apollo 13, Romancing The Stone), who deftly captured both the daylight beauty of the Point Reyes shore and the ghostly goings-on in the dark, eerie night.

“The Fog has been our most requested title for as long as we have handled the Studiocanal library here,” according to Eric Di Bernardo, Rialto’s director of sales. “It is Carpenter’s most visually alluring film and we think it’s been worth the wait.”

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Award-winning singer, actress, producer, and entertainer Jennifer Lopez has been cast in Lorene Scafaria’s HUSTLERS. The film is inspired by the Jessica Pressler article in New York Magazine entitled, “The Hustlers at Scores”, which details a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. Lopez will play ringleader to the group of ambitious women who take their plans of getting their full cut too far. Scafaria’s script takes place in the late aughts in New York City in the wake of the financial crisis and explores the toll it took on the livelihood of the dancers who relied on their Wall Street clientele. The story will also focus on themes of identity, loyalty, survival and control.

“The film is an empathetic look at women and men, our gender roles, what we’re valued for, what we’ve been told is our value in every movie, TV show, every corner of culture. Men have been told they’re worth the size of their bank accounts. Women have been told they’re worth the symmetry of their faces, their bodies, their beauty and that’s what this film is based on. The rules of the club are the rules of the world,” said Scafaria.

Last week, Lopez was named the 2018 recipient of the MTV Video Music Award’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, and earlier this year was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.

“There is no other actor who could embody this raw and dynamic character with such complexity, humanity and intelligence. It’s always been her. She’s fucking Jennifer Lopez.” Scafaria added.

Annapurna and Gloria Sanchez are producing with Scafaria co-producing. Lopez and producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas will executive produce along with associate producer Alexandra Brown. Lopez is repped by CAA and Hirsch Wallenstein. Scafaria is repped by UTA.

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